PR experts say what could be next for Harry and Meghan

Prince Harry and Meghan face huge decisions about how to maintain their expensive lifestyles after their lucrative £18 million Spotify partnership was dropped.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex still have a £80 million Netflix deal, while Harry is reportedly in a four-book deal with Penguin Random House worth up to £29 million.

And a possible relaunch of Meghan’s blog and lifestyle brand The Tig, which she closed in 2017 when she got engaged to Harry, would be a further revenue stream.

Today, PR experts told MailOnline how they think the Sussexes could maintain good cash flow in their £12 million mansion in Montecito, California.

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede said they could “activate their social media and interact with their fans like Victoria Beckham does so well.”

Andy Barr, co-founder of 10 Yetis Digital, said rumors of an alleged partnership with Dior – which have since been denied – could be a “bait to try and flush other global brands out of the woodwork that may be interested in a collaboration.” ‘ with them.

And Rhizome Media chief executive Jack Izzard claimed The Tig could become the new Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s £200 million wellness brand.

Here, PR experts give their thoughts on the future for Harry and Meghan:

‘Activate social media and start communicating with their fans’

NICK EDEbrand and culture expert

“I think it’s been noted for Meghan and Harry that it’s time to stop exploring their relationship with the Royal Family and time to build a brand that has credibility and longevity.

“If you look at the long list of powerhouses in the celebrity world, it’s about time they beat the success of The Beckhams, The Kardashians, Rihanna, Gwyneth, Jlo etc.

‘Can they do it? I’m not entirely sure as the above all have talent and have worked tirelessly to get where they are. Meghan and Harry don’t and this could be their downfall.

Their compassion and passion for change is completely genuine and is a driving force for them, but will people buy their brands? The jury is out!

“I think it’s a smart move to partner with (Hollywood talent agency) WME to shape who they both move forward and develop a strategy that builds them as team players with a positive attitude who care and also want people to get a glimpse of their life and who will ultimately believe in their life.

Meghan’s Tig could be the new Poosh or Goop and I think once they fire up their social media and start interacting with their fans like Victoria Beckham does so well, they could be a force to be reckoned with.

“Their lifestyles are expensive to maintain, so I’m sure there will be a lot of branded deals they’ll be looking for, based around fashion, beauty and lifestyle, where a lot of money can be made quickly.”

Harry is promoting his book Spare on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS in January

MARK BORKOWSKIfounder of Borkowski PR

‘From my position, these are extremely interesting times for them. If they had value to declare, they’d definitely still take the Spotify shilling. But it’s very damaging when a top executive of Spotify calls them “grifters.”

“Are we seeing a shaky pile of dominoes about to fall with the other deals they have? It remains a bright future for Meghan if she goes the lifestyle route – she can. But Harry is no David Beckham.

“What makes them attractive is that they’re worth the clickbait they might be dragging along, but then again, it doesn’t empower them to control the story.

“So what role is there for Harry? He’s not a style icon, he’s not George Clooney, he’s built for a purpose. They need to identify what their brand is.

“But I have serious doubts they’ll be dress horses for Dior or Armani or whatever — once a big name drops, others are likely to look to it.”

Is this unraveling the thread about their entire brand and what it stands for? That’s why there’s a crisis right now, not caused by them, but the death of probably their most publicized contract. They haven’t had the right team to deliver for them.

“It’s great to have a book deal of this magnitude, but it depends on Harry figuring out more visceral things. There have been a lot of issues with people dumping them and not caring about it. What a riveting book he will have, having played many of the cards he already has to play. What’s the content? It all comes down to the quality of content he is going to deliver

Netflix will investigate the value of their deal, whether it’s worth it. Harry and Meghan must find a team that can perform for them. But they also need to be able to deal with someone who can tell the truth for them – and to date they have not been good at dealing with the naysayers.

“They are facing a major crisis of who they are and the only solution to that is positive PR around the team they are rebuilding. I would register very big names to surround them.’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at St Paul’s Cathedral in London last June

‘Collaboration with major brands beckons, but they want to keep it global’

ANDY BARco-founder of 10 Yetis Digital

“Harry and Meghan are now clearly taking a crisis comms 101 approach to try and improve their reputation with the public, which is to say and do absolutely nothing for a short period of time.

“The hope is that this creates positive demand for when they make their next public statement or high-profile appearance.

It is becoming clear that the court of public opinion is starting to run away from them both here and in the US and this could be a classic case of their profile being oversaturated in the media and leading to public fatigue.

“I suspect the last part of the ‘Go Big or Go Home’ statement is difficult when you don’t have a well-defined home to return to after such dramatic revelations and accusations about your wider family.

The alleged Dior deal could have been a bait to try and flush other global brands out of the woodwork that might be interested in partnering with a semi-royal family.

The couple offers a more accessible and more affordable opportunity for a brand to try and appeal to consumers obsessed with the mystery of high society and the intrigue of royal life.

Harry and Meghan are still a big draw; the longer they stay quiet, the more interest there will be in what they say and do next, and this means another big payday for them.

“A major brand partnership beckons, but they will be keen to keep it as global as possible to maintain their high society position and their California lifestyle.”

In December last year, the six-part Netflix TV series Harry & Meghan appeared

‘The Tig could become a wellness brand along the lines of Goop’

JACK IZZARDCEO of PR agency Rhizome Media

“The abrupt, supposedly ‘mutual’ termination of Sussexes’ $20 million Spotify deal has tarnished their aspirations to become global content creators.

The couple’s star power made Meghan’s Archetypes podcast single series one of Spotify’s most-streamed shows in its first month.

But the interview format, in which Meghan – or allegedly her staff – gently interrogated a series of celebrity guests, lacked the one thing people have come to expect from the Sussexes: tension with the royal family.

The danger for the pair now is that the longer they spend in their wealthy California enclave, the weaker their bond with the megawatt royal brand becomes.

“Harry in particular has mined the royal glamor for all its worth. The problem for him is that Spare spared us no details. Little more can be said about how the royal virginity was lost in a field.

Americans have a greater tolerance than Brits for the ‘live interview as a public therapy session’ Harry used to promote Spare, but people’s desire to hear him rant about his grievances is now increasing on both sides of the pond off.

‘Harry’s past is clearly painful for him, but he remains imprisoned by it. It’s still the only subject he can find an audience for, but this won’t last forever and he must find a new focus or risk fading into ex-royal irrelevance.

Meghan’s prospects are better. It’s been said that another platform could pick up the Archetypes podcast, and she always has her acting career to fall back on.

The couple live a short drive from Hollywood and Meghan’s profile should make her an attractive target for casting directors.

However, it’s unclear how willing she is to speak a screenwriter’s dialogue rather than her truth, and she should initially expect supporting rather than starring roles.

Failing that, there are rumors that she would relaunch her lifestyle blog The Tig, which she stopped shortly before her engagement to Harry.

“With clever marketing, that could be turned into a wellness brand along the lines of the wildly successful Goop, run by her Montecito neighbor Gwyneth Paltrow.”

Harry and Meghan during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021

“Harry and Meghan should put the spotlight on others instead”

SEAN O’MEARAdirector of Essential Content

Harry and Meghan must embark on a brand rebuild that embraces real authenticity and creates something more sustainable than individual big money deals with other brands that have hitherto relied on the ‘halo effect’ of their personal involvement.

“Rather than looking for short-term profits with large initial payments, I would recommend an approach that allows them to build an income stream that can be sustainable and curated, but that does not require their personal personal involvement to make it attractive or interesting to an audience. .

“Basically, instead of being the content, they should create the content and move away from the center.”

“Shifting the spotlight from themselves to protecting others and amplifying the causes they care about will speak louder than words.

And it will give them and their audience a break from the scrutiny cycle that has come with every deal they’ve done to date. People are tired of that.

“By prioritizing initiatives that align with their stated values, such as partnerships with SmartWorks and Invictus Games, they can create meaningful impact without championing any partnership and inviting further scrutiny.

It is essential to exercise caution when working with celebrities, only if they are directly related to charities that the couple is passionate about.

“The Harry and Meghan brand did not resonate as expected, creating the need to move away from an inward-looking mindset. They need to move from being the center of attention to putting others in the spotlight.”